Journalists, editors and media representatives from Pakistan, international and regional organizations met at the International Media Conference held in Karachi which was organised by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), to commemorate the World Press Freedom Day.

Journalists from 15 countries representing International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and other journalist unions took part and helped finalise the declaration. The conference was also attended by Federal Executive Council (FEC) members and editors and journalists from different newspapers.

They delegates recalled that there was a high number of violations against journalists in Pakistan, in particular the killing of journalists, which has reached over 100 in the last decade. Pakistan has been identified as one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world.

The demanded that instruments on the protection of journalists be implemented within national laws and that the justice system be overhauled to end impunity.

The declaration urged the authorities to establish rights for families of killed journalists for compensation, directly or through media institutions, and the setting up of a solidarity fund for the victims.

Media organisations, they said, have a duty of care and moral responsibility for the safety of all their journalists, in particular news gatherers, staff or freelancers, to provide hostile-environment safety training and equipment, medical care and life insurance.

The declaration also noted that media editors have a responsibility to systematically publicise crimes against journalists, investigate them as thoroughly as possible and expose any failure of government to make the perpetrators account for their crimes.

In the declaration, primacy of quality training and education for journalists, was acknowledged.

Impunity

It was declared that, in view of journalists being killed every year while carrying out their jobs, most of those incidents of violence remain uninvestigated and unpunished, and that urgent action is required by authorities to put an end to them.

Recommendations

Place the issue of the safety and protection of journalists, at every opportunity, on the agenda of national, regional and international institutions; To work with the IFJ at international level, in particular through the relevant structures of UNESCO, the United Nations and the Human Rights monitoring mechanisms in the United Nations system; To seek the help of the IFJ’s expertise to establish detailed database of all the killed journalists with the view to take legal action whenever possible; Develop amongst its unions and members a culture of being responsible for their own safety and a duty of care towards each other; Continue monitoring the safety of journalists .

Finally, the participants expressed their appreciation and thanks to the Governor of Sindh, Dr Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan, for his efforts to help organise the Karachi International Media Conference.

Express Tribune

Journalists carrying placards and banners raised slogans against the killing of the journalist and government negligence to arrest the killers.

Addressing journalists, KUJ Secretary General AH Khanzada said all journalists were united and a combined meeting of the PFUJ and the KUJ would soon be convened to discuss the targeting of media persons.

Senior journalist Amir Latif said that killers of innocent citizens were roaming freely and no one seemed to have the power to stop them.

He said a joint meeting would be called in which they would device strategy for the betterment of journalists.

PFUJ Secretary General Khursheed Abbasi said the journalists would have to be more careful and alert.

He condemned federal and provincial governments for not arresting the killers of journalists

He demanded of the government to arrest the murderers of journalists and punish them.

The News

KARACHI: The latest order from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) warning private television channels to not broadcast what it called hate speech has once again caught the electronic media off-guard. Media managers and practitioners once again find themselves at a crossroads between military, political parties and the government.

The warning was issued late Thursday night after a speech of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain in which he had made certain remarks against the armed forces. He later sought an apology for the tirade, but private news channels which ran his speech had already been served show-cause notices.

Pemra’s directive, which is being widely viewed as a follow-up to the military spokesman’s reaction, is nonetheless interesting because when the MQM chief was live on more than 20 news channels, the regulatory body was nowhere in sight and had approached none of the channels.

It was only when Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj-Gen Asim Bajwa tweeted the army’s response to Altaf Hussain’s speech, threatening legal action against the MQM chief that Pemra sprang into action.

Interestingly, a few hours prior to the broadcast of Altaf Hussain’s speech, then Senior Superintendent of Police Malir Rao Anwar held a press conference that ran live and equated the MQM with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

However, Pemra chose to say nothing at the time and although the Sindh government recalled Anwar from his posting not long after, television channels went on with their coverage that concentrated on what quickly became the talk of the evening.

Given the content of Anwar’s press conference, one expected a strong reaction from the MQM chief which is exactly what happened. Altaf Hussain spoke in a critical fashion and the military spokesman reacted. Having assessed DG ISPR’s reaction, the information ministry and the defence minister appeared to have quickly jumped on the bandwagon of how the MQM chief’s words constituted “hate speech” that should be prosecuted, bringing us once again to the question as to whether the latest Pemra order on the same in fact constitutes media censorship.

Most media practitioners and observers believe that both Pemra and the media are responsible for the content that ends up getting aired live. Azhar Abbas, President and CEO of the upcoming television channel BOL, says it is the responsibility of news management teams to monitor live content.

More on this: Altaf’s remarks on army to be legally pursued: ISPR

“All TV channels have submitted written assurances to Pemra that they will use a delay mechanism to ensure that hate speech is not aired,” he says.

What constitutes hate speech?

Moreover, delving into the crux of the matter, senior journalist and television anchor Talat Hussain believes there is a need to define what exactly constitutes hate speech so media managers and practitioners have a clear understanding of their freedoms and limitations along with the rationale for these.

He insists that the concept is used in an arbitrary fashion at times, leading to its abuse at the hands of vested interests and censorship in order to achieve political ends.

“For example, Altaf Hussain has said a number of things in the past and there hasn’t been a problem,” the anchor says, adding that “what was being said in the recent dharnas (sit-ins) outside the Parliament could also be regarded as hate speech”.

He further asked that although certain anchors had been resorting to hate speech in their talk shows, it was baffling that no action had been taken against them.

With the two senior journalists exploring the areas of responsibility and definitions when it comes to the concept of hate speech and how to manage it in a frenzied environment of breaking news TV, former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Justice (retired) Tariq Mehmood dubbed the operations of the media as a circus where everyone airs their views with no accountability.

However, in the case Altaf Hussain’s controversial speech, he says it is the state’s responsibility to pursue the matter through a formal complaint against the MQM chief who is in fact a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

Broadcasters, PFUJ yet to respond

So far there has been no reaction from either the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) or the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) against the Pemra order.

PFUJ President Afzal Butt says he has not read the order and would only relay a reaction on the subject after he has gone through it.

A ‘dilemma’ for journalists

Journalists have pointed out though that unless an enabling environment is created and the media is given adequate protection against censorship, such instances are likely to occur again and again.

This is particularly critical in the case of Pakistan which remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists who often get caught in the crossfire between state and non-state actors.

A simple example to illustrate the dilemma confronting journalists and media organisations here is a suo motu notice taken in 2014 by then chief justice of Balochistan Qazi Faez Essa over the publishing and airing of statements by banned Baloch separatist organisations.

He had asked a media representative to explain why the media aired and published these, to which the response came that if the court could assure security and protection to the media from the said banned organisations, such statements would never be aired. And this was where the subject came to rest.

So the question presents itself, is Karachi any different?

Dawn

KARACHI: Former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said the media should promote democracy wholeheartedly so that Pakistan makes rapid progress.

Speaking as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of a conference organised by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) at the Governor House on Friday, Mr Zardari said that over the years Pakistani journalists had rendered a lot of sacrifices for the cause of democracy and freedom of the press. However, a lot of work still needed to be done.

The PPP chief said the social media would soon leave the print and electronic media far behind because no obstacle could now bar its path to progress.

He said that like his party his government had always upheld the principles of freedom of the press and even though certain news organisations tried to make him controversial his government never tried to suppress them.

He said his attention had been drawn to non-payment of salaries by certain newspapers and television channels and announced that Sindh government had been asked to link payment of advertisement bills to the payment of salaries by the media houses.

Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, in his capacity as chief patron of the event, welcomed journalists from home and abroad to the Governor House for the conference.

He said the objective of the three-day conference — titled “One world, One Media” — was to provide a platform to the media community to defend the freedom of expression and human rights.

In his speech, IFJ President Jim Boumelha pointed out that in the last 10 years over 100 Pakistani journalists had been killed in the line of duty.

PFUJ President Rana Azeem, General Secretary Amin Yusuf, MQM leader Khwaja Izhar-ul-Hasan and KUJ President G.M. Jamali also spoke on the occasion.

Dawn